Eid Misleh spent 19 years in Israel’s prisons until he was released as part of a prisoner exchange agreed between Hamas and Israel. Back home among family in Gaza, Misleh told The Electronic Intifada about life in prisoner and the hardship of being denied family visits for eleven years.

The sense of joy was palpable in the streets of Gaza on Tuesday as released prisoners were greeted by celebratory crowds. The Electronic Intifada’s Rami Almeghari was there when the first prisoners arrived.

Families in Gaza wait to hear if their loved ones, imprisoned in Israeli jail cells, will be on the list as part of a prisoner swap deal that includes the release of more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.

A women’s tennis table team is set to leave Gaza for Jordan to participate in an international Arab table tennis tournament in October. The four-strong team is traveling for the first time since Israel imposed tightened closure measures on Gaza in 2007.

In a special ceremony at the French Cultural Center in Gaza City earlier this month, a representative of the French consulate in Jerusalem presented the highest award bestowed on non-French citizens to Reem Abu Jaber, head of the Qattan Centre for the Child in Gaza.